CLARENCE MITCHELL, ET AL. v. RUSHMORE LOAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC, ET AL. - Articles

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CLARENCE MITCHELL, ET AL. v. RUSHMORE LOAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC, ET AL.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Aug 29, 2023

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Webb A. Brewer, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Clarence Mitchell and Leslie Mitchell.

Attorneys 2: Bret J. Chaness and Patricia Whitehead, Peachtree Corners, Georgia, for the appellee, Select Portfolio Services, Inc.

Judge(s): USMAN

Plaintiffs brought suit alleging breach of contract and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the mortgage servicer of their loan. The mortgage servicer sought summary judgment on two grounds: (1) an absence of privity and (2) its actions did not violate any provision of the contract. The Plaintiffs conceded that the mortgage servicer’s actions did not violate any specific term of the contract and indicated their suit exclusively relied on a claim predicated upon breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the mortgage servicer. The trial court acknowledged but declined to rule upon the mortgage servicer’s privity argument and instead granted summary judgment based on its conclusion that a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing cannot occur in the absence of a breach of a specific term of the contract. The Plaintiffs appealed. We affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on the ground that there is no privity of contract between the Plaintiffs and the mortgage servicer.

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